A few weeks ago, just for fun, I started building a complete 3D model of the Overlook Hotel (Timberline Lodge) from the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, The Shining. I very quickly realised however, that I'd bitten off quite a bit more than I could chew. I knew the task would be complex and time consuming but that was sort of the idea, a therapeutic folly I could drop in and out of, five minutes here, five minutes there, eventually ending up with a model I could share on-line with others to do with as they pleased.
Until I really started to get into it, I couldn't have imagined how drastically unrelated in physical space each of the scenes and rooms were to each other, scenes were spliced between sets at Elstree and actual locations in the hotel, characters would leave a hallway and enter a kitchen when in reality they would have been entering a function/ball room etc.
In some scenes, even when a character is viewed motionless from two angles, between those cuts, the actor was often turned 90 or 180 degrees, evident only from jumping carpet patterns and other tiny details. I guess this is all part of the subtle and subliminal visual skill of Kubrick's direction, the uneasy feeling he creates in our minds, often without us ever comprehending why we feel the tension we do, why scenes feel so odd, so uncomfortable.
Since the complete task is now (was always!) all but impossible, I've decided to focus on a few key locations. The first scene I'm working on is the corridor with the iconic orange and brown geometric carpet, beyond that, I'm building the glorious green and white en-suite bathroom from room 237, and the amazing red and white ballroom bathroom. Below is a quick render from where I'm currently at with the corridor, it's not even close to being complete yet.
I'm quite happy with Danny's tricycle though, I'm hoping to add this level of detail to every component. The corridor still needs an awful lot of lighting adjustment and some further detail, electrical outlets on the walls, some wear and tear scuffs and marks on the skirting boards and doors, those little things that will make it 'feel' much better. I'll post my progress here as and when I get time to add to this daft side project.
Project 237 1st Quick Render, very much a work in progress.
